Matt and Mello: 30 Words
by wirenoose
Summary: 30 one-word prompts, five prompts per chapter. Rated for language.
1. Chapter 1

Yo! This is an introduction kinda thing.

This is a 30 Word Prompt Challenge thing that I started a while ago and then forgot about it. And I figured since I'm go for prompts right now, I might as well put it up. There's going to be six chapters of prompts, so five each, and they're just gonna be shorts based on the word prompt. They're all gonna be Mello and Matt, and some of them can be read as romantic or not, it depends. You can consider almost all of these in an AU setting because I've been mean enough to these boys.


	2. Prompts: 1-5

Prompts 1-5 of 30

* * *

Mug

Mello sat on the couch, staring steely eyed at his history text book. Matt knew he wasn't studying, regardless of the notes scattered around him and the little bits of pencil lead that dotted the blue lined sheets.

The red head had just entered the room and still stood in the doorway, unnoticed by his roommate as he silently nudged the door shut with his foot. He approached, cautious, heaven only knew if the blond would snap. He set down one of the mugs he'd brought with him and slowly slid it across the table, moving aside papers until it touched the edge of Mello's book.

He looked up in surprise, glancing from the mug to Matt.

"Hot chocolate," he said, "it looked like you needed some."

A small grin lit Mello's face and he patted the seat next to him. Matt sat down, leaning against his friend as he sipped is own drink.

"Thanks Matty," Mello mumbled.

"Any time Mells."

* * *

T-Shirt

"I'm going out!" Mello shouted, his voice cut short by the slamming of the front door.

Matt poked his head out of his room and sighed.

Mello had been going out a lot lately, he was still hell bent on catching Kira and it made Matt worry. The blond was still injured, not to mention probably drowsy. He'd just gotten out the shower and the steam always made him a bit tired and dizzy.

He spotted something black in his periphery and picked it up.

It was Mello's shirt. One of his many plain black tees. Matt held it to his nose, grinning softly as the smell of chocolate overwhelmed his senses. He returned to his room where he lay down on the bed, Mello's shirt clutched in his hands.

* * *

Car Freshener

"Don't touch it!" Mello shouted.

"I don't want it in my car!" Matt shouted back.

"Then quit smoking and I'll get rid of it."

"Like hell I'm quitting, if I quit you need to stop eating chocolate."

Mello glowered at him, positively glowing with agitation.

"Say it one more time, I fucking dare you."

"Stop. Eating. Chocolate," Matt said bravely.

Before Mello could wind up for a punch, Matt ducked in and kissed his cheek. The blond froze and dropped his arm.

"I'll cut down if you do," Mello said.

"Fair enough."

* * *

Locks

Matt ignored the glare he was getting. He'd lost the keys to the apartment and had spent the last twenty minutes trying to pick the lock on the door.

They'd been grocery shopping and Mello was agitated about the fact that his ice cream was melting.

"I'm sorry," Matt mumbled again.

"Shut up," Mello had the ice cream tub in hand and was using features of his Swiss army knife to eat the softened dessert.

Ten minutes, and a half container of cookie dough ice cream, later, Matt got the door open.

Matt sighed and waved Mello in before jamming his hands in his pocket and following the blond inside. He stopped dead in his tracks and chuckled.

"Hey, Mells, guess what?"

"Hmm?" Mello was putting the groceries away.

"You won't believe what I just found."

"Matt, I swear to god, if you're about to tell me that the damn key was in your pocket the entire time I will hit you."

Matt held up the key and received a box of crackers hurled towards his face.

* * *

Pants

"What?"

It was too early in the morning to be putting up with anything and Matt's staring was beginning to get annoying.

"Nothing."

Mello rolled his eyes and went back to his coffee, willing his body to wake up faster. He still felt Matt's eyes on him and he turned his gaze back. The red head had a smatter of freckles across his cheeks and nose, but they were only ever visible when he blushed. Mello could see them clearly, even in his bleary half asleep state.

"Spit it out, what the hell is it?" Mello snapped.

Matt bit into his bottom lip before taking a deep breath and pointing.

"The hell does that mean?"

"You're wearing my pants."

Mello looked down, he was in fact wearing Matt's pants. It had been an intentional action, Mello's clothes were in the washer, and he knew that Matt's pajama pants were comfortable. So he'd put on a pair.

"And?"

Matt gave an awkward cough and looked away, muttering under his breath.

"What was that?" Mello asked, thoroughly enjoying how Matt was fidgeting.

"You look good."


	3. Prompts: 6-10

Prompts 6-10 of 30

* * *

Tank

Mello watched quietly as Matt drove the toy tank back and forth across the carpet, mowing down plastic army men in the process. They'd been in the play room for the past hour because Mello had agreed to come if Matt stayed with him in the library while he studied.

"What are you doing?" he finally asked, not seeing the point.

"Huh? Oh, playing army," the child grinned, holding out the tank to Mello.

"That's not how the army works."

"It's how this one works."

Matt apparently sensed Mello's apprehension and tugged him over closer, handing him the tank. He stood up the army men and divided them in two before moving across the floor so he sat opposite Mello.

"What do I do?"

"You just- you play," Matt said, not sure what exactly he was supposed to say.

Mello shrugged but tentatively drove the tank forward.

* * *

Quiet

It was around two in the afternoon when Matt noticed.

A winter storm had blown through, covering everything in snow and it was nearly impossible to get outside. He'd gone shopping before it hit so they'd be fine until the roads were cleared. Mello was curled up on the couch, wrapped in the comforter from their bed. His head was lolled back slightly, lidded eyes gazing at the ceiling. Matt was on the floor in front of him, resting against his legs, and he realized that there was no background noise.

Usually there was always something. Whether it was rushing cars from outside, the neighbors across the hall fighting, or even the sounds from Matt's video games. There was Mello angrily chewing on chocolate, or his huffy breaths when he was annoyed, there was Matt whining for attention and chuckling happily when Mello gave in.

But there was none of that.

It was just him, and Mello, relaxing in the rare quiet.

And Matt wasn't about to ruin it.

* * *

Medication

It was a bad one.

Bad ones happened some times, less often than moderate ones, more than horrible ones. Bad ones weren't fun. Matt couldn't touch him if it was a bad one. That only made it worse. So he sat in front of him, making sure to keep his breathing even because after a few minutes, Mello would subconsciously match it as he calmed down.

His fingers were curled around the bright orange of his pill bottle and Matt judged his level of composure by how tight his grip was. When it had loosened considerably, Matt knew it was okay to at least speak.

"Are you gonna need another one? Or are you okay? Because we can stay put as long as you need."

Mello just shook his head and silently handed him the pills, ignoring how his hand was shaking.

"I'm gonna help you up, okay? Is that fine?"

Mello nodded and Matt got him onto his feet, keeping both hands on his shoulders just in case his knees buckled. He slipped the bottle into his pocket and tried to forget that it would need to be refilled soon.

* * *

Cartoons

"I don't see how this is entertaining, the physics are all wrong to. Not to mention, the cat looks fucking creepy."

All Matt wanted was a lazy Saturday, he thought it a reasonable request, and when Mello admitted to not having watched many cartoons growing up, he couldn't resist. If under interrogation, Matt would deny the fact that he had several volumes of Tom and Jerry on his computer.

They'd settled on the bed and Matt selected an episode at random and went to put together something for breakfast while Mello began watching.

All he wanted was a lazy Saturday and in all honesty, he might have suspected that Mello would criticize the show. But he'd gone for it anyway.

"Just watch it."

"But it's creepy, Matt!"

"It's a children's cartoon, damn it!"

* * *

Hula-Hoop

"What in the hell is that?"

"It's a hula-hoop."

"Again, I say, what the hell is that?"

The expression on Mello's face was one that Matt had never seen before, which was saying something considering how long they'd known each other.

"It's a toy, Mello, come here, you try," he lifted the hoop from his hips and held it out to Mello, who regarded it like he'd just been handed a bomb. He accepted it, regardless, and turned his gaze to Matt.

"What am I supposed to do?"

"You put it around your hips and then you move so it spins, and you can't use your hands."

Mello arched a brow but followed his poorly given instructions. To both of their surprise, he had no issue keeping the hoop up


	4. Prompts: 11-15

Prompts 11-15 of 30

* * *

Fire

Matt learned quickly to light his cigarettes behind his hand, or to turn his body completely. It had been something of a shock the first time around and it had taken him an hour or so to figure out what had caused Mello to jump. The blond had tensed up suddenly and stayed that way for a good two minutes before excusing himself.

After reflecting on it, Matt figured that it was his lighter. The click of ignition was what gave it away. Mello could look away as quick as he could but he'd always see the flame in his periphery. So Matt solved the problem for him, careful not to let the fire be visible. If Mello noticed the change in his action, and Matt knew that he did, he didn't say anything. Matt didn't expect him to.

It was a little harder when they hit summer time. L.A. was known for rolling blackouts during the season, and Matt had been wholly unprepared.

That first blackout, Matt had managed to get Mello to go to sleep after he got a flashlight to work and snuffed out the candles. Afterwards, he'd stocked up on electronic tea lights and batteries for flashlights. It was, perhaps, a little exhausting trying to keep up with every instance of fire within their apartment. But it was worth it to not see Mello so afraid.

* * *

Thunder

It was a dry storm. Thunder crashed and lightning flashed, but not a single drop of rain fell. Matt thought it was weird, but Mello was out on the balcony, sitting with his back to the wall a sleepy look on his face. He'd smile faintly as the thunder boomed and Matt had contented himself with occasionally glancing over the top of his handheld.

When the storm stopped, Mello came back inside and fell onto the couch, fidgeting until he was comfortable.

"Have fun out there?"

"Much."

It was answer enough and Matt opened up his laptop to see if there were any more storms in the weather forecast.

* * *

Early Morning

Matt had a rule; he refused to wake up if the sun wasn't up.

But lately, he'd not minded waking an hour earlier.

Mello's expression was soft, not twisted by a scowl or hardened by a glare. His arm was over Matt's waist, and he found that he didn't mind half his body being numb so long as Mello kept his head on his shoulder. It was rare to see Mello looking so unbothered by anything. It was nice. Matt had stumbled across the discovery when Mello kicked him in his sleep and woke him up at four in the morning. He'd been prepared to grumble about it but seeing Mello's face had frozen him.

When the sun began to rise, it played light over Mello's features, giving his blond hair a golden glow in the process. Angelic wasn't a word Matt would usually associate with him, but it seemed to fit. Even after a few weeks, Matt had yet to grow tired of the sight. So he continued to wake himself up as the sun rose, just to see Mello looking peaceful.

* * *

Static

It was curious at first. Stupid to. Matt had to be stupid to sleep with headphones on. What if he rolled around and choked himself with the cord? It hadn't happened yet, but he was almost certain that it would.

Watching Matt sleep was probably a little creepy. But he was deathly curious about what exactly Matt was listening to. The headphones were plugged into his phone, but the screen displayed no song title or artist name, so it was probably a recording of some sort. And what bothered Mello the most, was the fact that he'd yet to figure out the passcode to Matt's phone.

It was something of a hit to his pride.

The idea smacked him upside the head one night, when he realized that Matt was so deep asleep that he'd not wake for a hurricane.

Carefully, he lifted the headphones off and waited to see if he was wrong. When Matt remained asleep, he slipped the headphones on himself.

He could hardly hear it, a faint humming sort of white noise. Why Matt would need such a thing to sleep, he didn't know. But he didn't ponder on it any longer because within the minute, he'd fallen asleep as well.

* * *

Crayons

Coloring was fun, Matt decided. There were a lot of colors, even though Linda was hogging most of them. To be fair, she was really good at drawing, the best artist at Wammy's Kindergarten. That was what she said anyways.

The new blond boy sat at the end of the table, away from most of the colors. Matt scooped up his coloring book and picked up as many crayons as he could carry. The boy seemed startled when Matt dropped down to sit beside him, dumping the crayons on the table.

"I know Linda has most of the colors down by her side, so I brought some over for you!" Matt opened up his book and smiled at the boy's confused expression.

"Thank you."

"Yup! You're welcome!"


	5. Prompts: 16-20

Prompts 16-20 of 30

* * *

Swimming

Linda was the first to dive in, and Mello was about to follow when he realized that Matt had made no move to join them.

"Hey, come on," he said, jogging back over.

"I'm just gonna stay here," Matt mumbled, preparing to sit down.

"What? No, Matt, it'll be fun- Oh, you can't swim, can you?"

Matt shook his head and looked away, apparently embarrassed at the fact. That wouldn't do.

Mello grabbed his hand and tugged him along.

"Mello, wait, what- I just said-"

"We'll stick to the shallows, I'll teach you, don't worry about it, I won't let you drown."

* * *

Memory

It was hazy, more so than Matt would have liked, but he remembered so he wasn't going to complain. He could only see it when he was relaxed, usually laying down, with his eyes shut. It helped whenever Mello was cuddled up to his chest. That didn't happen often, usually the positions were reversed, but when it did, Matt would even out his breath and call up the image.

He remembered the room being just a hair on the side of too warm, but the window was open, letting in the barest hint of a breeze. It was bearable. They were on Matt's bed, Mello halfway on top of him, dead to the world. He'd spent the day studying, then spent whatever time left over running around to burn away his anxiety. The result had been exhaustion.

Matt had fully expected him to sleep in his own bed, but Mello had sleepily crawled under Matt's covers and dropped himself on top of him. Sometime in the middle of the night, Mello's hand had found Matt's and they woke up that way.

It hadn't happened since, and the memory only grew fainter and fainter. But damn him if he was letting go of it.

* * *

Breath(ing)

It was a proof of life, a reassurance. The steady rise and fall of his chest, paired with the hot puffs of air that fanned over his skin. Yes, evidence that he was alive, and not dead or dying. A steady heart and easy breathing as the moon rose and the room grew dark.

He'd spent so many years worrying, stressing, hoping, and to see such a simple act proving that the other was alive...

Comforting, really that was all it was. It was comforting to hold him close and to wrap him in his arms. It was comforting to feel the dull thud of a heart beat as they slept. But it was the steady breathing that made the night easier. They never faltered, nor were they labored. Just steady breathing proving that the boy in his arms was real, that he was alive.

* * *

Plants

"You realize that thing is gonna die in, like, a week, right?"

"Don't be such a downer, Mells, it'll be fine."

"Do you even know how to take care of it?"

"Of course I do."

"Wikipedia articles don't count."

"Sure they do."

"Why did you even buy it in the first place?"

"The apartment's kinda dull, I thought I could spruce it up a bit."

"Yeah, because a dead flower is gonna help with that."

"Mells, seriously-"

"Fine, fine, whatever, have fun with your flower, I'm gonna go take a nap."

* * *

Comfort

Waking violently was never a good thing. Even less so when it was Matt. Usually Mello was the one with the nightmares.

Regardless, Matt shot awake, sitting up with a dying scream on his lips, heaving in air as fast as he could and almost choking on it. Mello, tense and on high alert, quickly got himself in front of Matt, settling on his lap and gently cupping his face. Almost immediately, Matt's attention was focused solely on him. Mello moved his hands, slowly running them through Matt's sweat soaked hair and down to the base of his neck. Their foreheads met and Matt let his eyes flutter shut as he tried to bring his breathing under control.

"It's okay, you're okay," Mello whispered when he felt Matt shudder, "You're okay, say it back to me, you're okay."

Matt didn't say it back but he did bring his shaky hands up, pulling Mello into a hug. It was answer enough, for the moment, and Mello began to rub circles into Matt's skin with his thumbs.

When Matt's breathing evened out, they settled back to lay down and Mello got Matt situated in his arms. He danced his fingers up and down Matt's back, drawing abstract shapes until he heard the other draw in a breath to speak.

"I'm okay, it's fine."

Mello didn't believe it for a second but he nodded and continued to hold Matt until he fell asleep.


	6. Prompts: 21-25

Prompts 21-25 of 30

* * *

Alcohol

"How come you didn't tell me you were a god damn lightweight?" Mello grumbled, attempting to heave Matt up the stairs.

"Didn't cross my mind."

It was a struggle, and Mello suddenly regretted living on the third floor. Matt was broader, he weighed more, and Mello was a twig. In all manner, it was an uphill battle trying to carry Matt up the stairs.

Preferable without either of them falling.

"From now on, no more drinking," Mello dropped Matt in front of the door while he fished the keys out of his pocket. His rather inebriated friend only mumbled something unintelligible. When he got the door open, he lugged Matt the rest of the way inside and dragged him into the bathroom before he puked.

* * *

Apology

It didn't look right; Mello crying. Gruff, yet surprisingly sweet, Mello who would rather die than cry in front of Matt, was doing just that. And it didn't look right.

"Mells, it's fine, I'm fine-"

"Shut up."

Matt listened and waited patiently, quite content to be in Mello's arms, but he was concerned, just a little bit. He couldn't remember a time that Mello had actually verbally spoken the words 'I'm sorry'. He said them in his own ways, offering to help Matt study for the next test, agreeing to play just one more round of Mario Kart, not asking him to turn the volume down on one of his handhelds. He said it through a soft kiss to Matt's forehead, or a quick one to his knuckles, he said sorry by tracing the lines of Matt's palms.

But he'd never done it through tears.

And Matt knew that that was what it all was. An apology, Mello was apologizing by baring emotion, by holding Matt close and pressing short kisses against his neck and jaw. So Matt sighed, and took a shuddering breath. Mello would allow him to speak, no matter what he said otherwise.

"Okay, it's okay."

* * *

Stuffed Animal(s)

"What?" Mello snapped, daring Matt to say something.

"Nothing," Matt held his hands up in mock surrender as he got ready to lay down.

He'd bought it on a whim really, just an ordinary grocery run and he'd seen a bin out of the corner of his eye. A fluffy stuffed lion sat atop the pile of assorted animals and he'd plucked it up and headed for the cash register. Presenting it to Mello had been a bold move, and he'd been prepared for rejection. But Mello had only raised an eyebrow and accepted the toy, settling it in his lap and returning to his book.

When the blond had gotten up to make dinner, the lion had been left on the couch, and had not been in his hands for the next few hours. But now it was, and Mello was already under the covers, the lion held tight to his chest.

Matt could only grin.

* * *

Bleach

The only thought that ran through Mello's head was ' _what the absolute fuck'_ but he kept that to himself and waited for Matt to explain himself.

"I, uh, I bought the wrong shampoo?"

Matt's hair, once a brilliant red that was nearly a dye job by itself, was now some cross between cheese cracker orange and daffodil. Mello wasn't entirely sure what he was supposed to say, well he did, but that was rude, so he opted from something else.

"They don't sell shampoo with bleach in it Matt, what the fuck?"

Okay, so that wasn't much better.

"Well, okay, you're right. But I got a shampoo that had some other type of hair dye thing, and I didn't realize it-"

"So you tried to bleach it out?"

"Yeah."

"Matt, what the absolute fuck?"

* * *

Flowers

"Here," Matt held up the bouquet, pride in his eyes and a smile on his lips. Mello looked up, prepared to ask why his coveted reading time was being disturbed. There was a lazy heat in the air, the sun was out and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. It being such a rare opportunity, Mello had hauled his heavy books outside beneath a tree near the perimeter.

"What are these for?" he asked. Matt could see the boy fighting the smile twitching at the corner of his mouth.

"Just because."

Mello accepted the flowers and took the time to genuinely look them over. It was no masterpiece, Matt was only seven so that wasn't really a surprise, but all the wildflowers were bright, arranged in colored sections. There was even a thin black ribbon, most likely taken out of the art room when a teacher wasn't looking, holding the bundle together.

Matt sat down beside him, grinning fully as he saw that Mello liked the gift.

"Thanks Matty," Mello said at last.

He set the flowers at his side and returned to his book, but he didn't object when Matt sidled up closer.


	7. Prompts: 26-30

Prompts 26-30 of 30

* * *

Children

Matt couldn't help but smile when he saw where Mello was looking.

They were waiting in line at the store, Matt had a handheld basket full of chocolate, coffee, a half gallon of milk, and a few other items they were low on. Mello had agreed to come with him, out of boredom most likely. But the blond's attention was entirely fixed on a little brunette girl sitting in the cart in front of them. She grinned at Mello and waved her tiny hands at him until he waved back and she erupted into giggles. Her mother was busy paying and she only spared a side glance to her daughter to make sure nothing bad had happened.

Mello continued to wave his hands or waggle his fingers, keeping the smile on the little girl's face until she left and it was their turn to check out.

On the drive back to their apartment, Matt took Mello's hand and pressed a kiss to his knuckles.

"What was that for?"

"Nothing," Matt said quietly, "You're pretty good with kids, you know?"

"Matt, we aren't- we can't-"

"Yeah, I know, I'm just saying."

* * *

Cats

"Look, I don't mind you bringing strays in every once in a while, but this is ridiculous."

Mello was sprawled on the couch, two kittens sleeping on his stomach, a larger cat curled up on his chest. Another was resting on the arm of the couch, one more along the back.

"Oh, come on, look how cute they are."

"Matt, I don't care how cute they are, we can't keep all of them."

"Why not?"

Mello's only response was a barely heated glare before he gave up and returned to holding still so he wouldn't wake their sleeping guests. Matt grinned and sat down on the floor in front of Mello so he could press a kiss to the other's forehead.

"See, you say that but you won't wake them up. We gotta think up names, we'll go to the pet store tomorrow and get them collars."

Mello just sighed.

* * *

Socks

The dresser was usually pretty organized, on Mello's side at least, all the clothes folded nicely until one got to the sock drawer. Mello had tried to keep that tidy, but Matt had no concept of such a thing. All of Mello's socks were black, or grey or white, monotone, they were uniformly set on the right side of the drawer. Matt had all manners of color on the left, socks with patterns, some fuzzy, some neon, they weren't matched, just dumped in. Most of them were striped, in some way, shape, or form and Mello had long since given up on trying to pair them up because it seemed like Matt had deliberately lost half of the socks just to make it so.

But, Mello was currently in a dilemma. Matt was supposed to do laundry, but he hadn't, and none of Mello's socks were clean. He had a business meeting to go to and there was absolutely no way he was putting on a pair of dirty socks just to save face.

So, if any of Mello's co-works noticed that his left sock was blue with pink stripes, and his right was dark red with neon green polka-dots, they didn't say anything.

* * *

Lipstick(makeup)

"There, you're done," Mello capped the tube and picked up the handheld mirror he'd brought with them. They'd decided to do it in the living room, as there wasn't much room in the bathroom. And it took a little pressure away from Matt.

With shaky hands, he took the mirror and opened his eyes.

"Woah."

It had taken a week for Mello to pry the request out of his boyfriend. Matt had been acting jumpy, and just a little 'off' and it wasn't until Mello finally cornered him that he gave it up. Mello had dried the nervous tears and told him to clean up. They'd driven to the drug store down the street and he helped Matt pick out a few things to start with. Mello's makeup experience came from watching his mother and after a few botched attempts, he got the hang of it.

Matt really did look good, the lipstick had been a gamble but it had paid off, and any apprehension Mello had was dissolved by Matt's smile.

"Thank you, Mells," Matt said quietly, throwing his arms around Mello's neck.

"Yeah, no problem, Matty."

* * *

Loss

It was all a blur and he hated that he couldn't remember anything with more clarity. In all honesty, it was probably because of his tears, blurring everything even though they weren't physical.

There was a sharp breeze, sending shivers down his back as it passed. The sky was a brilliant mess of blood red and soft orange as the sun set and on any other day he would have thought it beautiful. But not that day, no, no, no.

He heaved a sigh and dropped his hands to his lap, trying to work up the will to look at the headstone.

It wasn't fair. They wouldn't have any more early morning kisses, late night cuddle sessions, no more lazy breakfasts or heated video game competitions in the living room. No more quiet exchanges, kissed knuckles, hair twined between fingers, or gentle nudges. No more tearful arguments and empty insults. No more reconciliations that ended with the two of them wrapped up in each other on the couch until the next morning.

He dragged his eyes up, seeing only the smooth 'M' carved into the stone and nothing else. It was all he was able to look at, anything else and he would end up crying.

And he wanted to save his tears for when he got back to the dauntingly empty apartment that would never be the same again.

* * *

Not gonna lie, the makeup one and the children one are purely self indulgent, you will not be able to convince me otherwise that Matt doesn't enjoy makeup, or that Mello doesn't absolutely adore kids, don't even try. That being said, I'm an asshole because of that last one, but I'm not sorry. There's more info on the profile page, but if you guys wanna send in prompts, or headcanons, I'll write for them, and I promise I won't make any character sad unless specified.


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